Manufacturer Dead Pixel Policies Compared
Most manufacturers only replace a screen once it has more than a set number of faulty pixels, usually based on a standard called ISO 9241-307. The exact limits vary by product line, screen resolution and region, and premium or professional ranges are often stricter than standard models. So always check the official warranty page for your exact model before assuming a number below applies to you. This covers monitors, TVs, phones and tablets, since the screen faults (and this test) work the same way on all of them. TV brands tend to publish much less detail than monitor brands, so several of the entries below are more cautious.
How the ISO 9241-307 classes work
ISO 9241-307 sorts screens into four classes by how many faulty pixels they're allowed. Class I allows none at all, and is used for medical and professional monitors. Class II is very strict, a couple of bright and dark faults at most, and is common on premium monitors. Class III is the usual baseline for standard monitors, allowing a handful of bright faults and a few more dark ones. Class IV is the loosest, usually for budget or industrial screens. Each manufacturer picks the class for each product line, so the same brand can have very different rules for a budget monitor and a professional one.
| Manufacturer | General policy |
|---|---|
| Dell | Standard monitors allow up to around 5 stuck (bright) sub-pixels before qualifying for replacement. Monitors covered by Dell's Premium Panel Exchange guarantee are replaced for even a single bright pixel. See Dell's official pixel guidelines (linked below). |
| Alienware | Alienware monitors are covered by Dell's same policies. Without Dell's Premium Panel Guarantee (PPG), industry-standard tolerances apply (roughly 1-5 scattered defective pixels are normal; 6+ anywhere, 2 adjacent, or 1 dead-center pixel can qualify for replacement, sometimes with manager approval). With PPG, a single visible bright pixel qualifies for replacement, though a purely dark/dead pixel alone does not. See Dell's official Alienware monitor support page (linked below). |
| Apple | No current published numeric policy — handled case-by-case via Apple Support/AppleCare, and a Genius may approve a replacement even outside normal tolerances. An older, leaked internal document (widely reported around 2010) described device-specific thresholds, but treat that as historical rather than current official policy. |
| Samsung | Consumer monitors and TVs generally follow ISO 9241-307 Class II-style tolerances; premium gaming/professional lines (e.g. Odyssey, ViewFinity) apply stricter bright-pixel standards. Confirm on your model's warranty page. |
| LG | Standard consumer monitors and TVs default to Class II, with the exact allowed defect count scaling with panel resolution — lower-resolution panels allow fewer defects than very high-resolution ones. Confirm on your model's warranty page. |
| ASUS | Standard monitors commonly apply a tolerance of a few defective bright/dark sub-pixels before replacement. Premium models carry ASUS's Zero Bright Dot (ZBD) program, replacing the unit for a single bright sub-pixel found within the qualifying period. |
| Acer | Replacement threshold is tied to the panel's native resolution — higher-resolution panels allow more defective sub-pixels before a claim qualifies, per Acer's official warranty documentation (linked below). |
| BenQ | Standard models follow typical resolution-based tolerance tables. Select professional/creator lines (EW, PD, SW series) ship with BenQ's Zero Bright Dot (ZBD) Guarantee, replacing the unit for one bright sub-pixel found within 3 months of purchase — dark (dead) sub-pixels are not covered by that specific guarantee. See BenQ's official pixel policy (linked below). |
| ViewSonic | Commonly cited as a 30-day window for dead/stuck-pixel-related returns on standard consumer monitors; specifics vary by product line and retailer return policy. |
| HP | Ties consumer-monitor policy to ISO 9241-307 tolerances; business Z-series and DreamColor professional monitors apply stricter thresholds than standard consumer displays. |
| Lenovo | Consumer monitors apply a standard tolerance for bright and dark sub-pixel defects; ThinkPad and ThinkVision Pro lines apply a stricter zero-bright-pixel policy on qualifying models. |
| MSI | MSI does not offer a zero-defect guarantee on standard monitors. Commonly reported thresholds require more than 3 bright dots (with a minimum spacing between them) or more than 5 dark dots before a replacement is offered — treat these as directional rather than officially confirmed, and check your model's documentation. |
| AOC | Standard AOC LED monitors carry a 30-day zero-dead-pixel guarantee from purchase. The gaming-focused Agon line extends zero-bright-pixel coverage to 4 years and the G-series to 3 years, both with advance replacement (a new unit ships before the faulty one is returned). See AOC's official warranty page (linked below). |
| Philips | Philips monitors are sold under the same parent company as AOC (MMD) and are covered by a similar three-year warranty policy; dead-pixel specifics follow the shared AOC/Philips warranty documentation rather than a separate Philips-only policy. |
| Gigabyte | Standard AORUS/Gigabyte monitors historically followed ISO Class II-style tolerances. A policy update added a Zero Bright Dot Guarantee for AORUS gaming monitors during the first year of ownership; OLED AORUS models don't have a separate published zero-defect guarantee, but support tends to be more accommodating given the price and visibility of OLED defects. See Gigabyte's official warranty page (linked below). |
| EIZO | EIZO's professional ColorEdge line is widely known in the industry for offering Zero Bright Dot-style guarantees that exceed standard ISO Class I/II tolerances, though EIZO does not appear to publish one consolidated public numeric policy across all product lines — contact EIZO support directly for your specific model. |
| Sony | Standard Sony TV warranties do not cover burn-in and only address dead/stuck pixels once a defect meets an internal threshold — commonly reported as roughly 3 isolated or 5 clustered pixels, though Sony does not appear to publish one universal public number and this varies by model/region. Optional extended protection plans reportedly offer broader coverage than the standard warranty. |
| TCL | TCL's published guidance follows an industry-standard allowance of a small number of malfunctioning pixels per million, scaled to panel resolution. TCL's Singapore support page specifically states panel replacement is available for 7 or more dead pixels from the 8th day of ownership onward — treat the exact count as region-specific rather than a global figure. See TCL's official pixel policy page (linked below). |
| Hisense | No single official public numeric policy was found. Commonly reported (unofficial) descriptions define a qualifying defect as roughly 5 or more adjacent dead pixels, or around 10 or more scattered across the panel — treat this as directional only and confirm with Hisense support for your region. |
| Panasonic | Reporting on Panasonic's policy is inconsistent across sources (some describe a minimum cluster size, others a fixed pixel count), with no single clear current public policy found. Confirm directly with Panasonic support for your region and model. |
| Sharp | Reportedly stricter in the center of the screen than at the edges on some Aquos models (fewer or no defects tolerated centrally), based on user-reported community discussion rather than an official published policy. Confirm with Sharp support for your specific model. |
| Xiaomi | No single consistent global policy found — service center practice reportedly varies significantly by region (some regions replace displays with multiple dead pixels under warranty; in at least one reported case, out-of-region devices had to be shipped back to China for service). Confirm with your local Xiaomi/Mi service center. |
| Huawei | Huawei is reported to offer a dead/stuck-pixel repair-or-replacement policy within its standard one-year warranty, but no specific public pixel-count threshold was found. Confirm with Huawei support for your device and region. |
Sources for the specifics above where a manufacturer publishes them directly: Dell's official pixel guidelines, Dell's official Alienware monitor support page, Acer's official warranty page, BenQ's official pixel policy, AOC's official warranty page, Gigabyte's official warranty page, and TCL's official pixel policy page. Other entries reflect commonly reported (often unofficial) industry norms and may not match every product line or region — always verify against your specific model's official warranty terms before relying on any figure above.
Before you contact support, run the Dead & Stuck Pixel Check to count exactly how many faulty pixels you have and where they are, and check which type of fault you're looking at — the limits above only cover dead and stuck pixels. Two of the most common complaints aren't covered by these policies at all: backlight bleed, which is usually handled under the general return policy rather than a published limit, and burn-in, which most warranties exclude as wear.